LINCOLN ELECTRIC CO
S-8, 1995-11-14
METALWORKG MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT
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<PAGE>   1
                                               Registration No. ________________
________________________________________________________________________________
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C.  20549
                                 ------------
                                   FORM S-8
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                    Under
                          The Securities Act of 1933
                                 ------------
                         THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY
            (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
                                      
                   OHIO                                 34-0359955 
        (State or Other Jurisdiction        (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
      of Incorporation or Organization)
                                      
                22801 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio  44117
         (Address of Principal Executive Offices Including Zip Code)

                                 ------------
                        1995 LINCOLN STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

                                 ------------
  Frederick G. Stueber, Esq., Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
                         The Lincoln Electric Company
              22801 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio  44117-1199
                   (Name and Address of Agent For Service)

                                 ------------
                                (216) 481-8100
        (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

                                 ------------
                       CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
=================================================================================================================
  Title of                                        Proposed Maxi-          Proposed Maxi-          Amount of
  Securities to           Amount to be            mum Offering            mum Aggregate           Registration
  be Registered           Registered (1)          Price Per Share (2)     Offering Price (2)      Fee
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  <S>                     <C>                        <C>                     <C>                  <C>
  (I) Common Shares,   |   
  without par value    |                                                                                      
                       |       100,000                  $24.75                   $2,475,000            $853.45
                       | 
  (II) Class A Common  |   
  Shares, without par  |       100,000                  $25.00                   $2,500,000            $862.07
  value                |                                                                                          
=================================================================================================================
<FN>
(1)  Pursuant to Rule 416 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"),
this Registration Statement also covers such additional Class A Common Shares,
without par value and Common Shares, without par value (the "Common Shares") as
may become issuable pursuant to the antidilution provisions of the 1995 Lincoln
Stock Purchase Plan (the "Plan").

(2)  Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the
registration fee, pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (h) of Rule 457 of the General
Rules and Regulations under the Securities Act, on the basis of the average of
the high and low sale prices of the Common Shares on the NASDAQ National 
Market on November 8, 1995, within five business days prior to filing.

</TABLE>

<PAGE>   2
                                    Part II

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference
         ---------------------------------------

The following documents previously filed by The Lincoln Electric Company (the
"Registrant") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission")
are incorporated herein by reference:  the Prospectus dated June 29, 1995 filed
pursuant to Rule 424(b) as a supplement to the Registrant's Registration
Statement on Form S-3 (No. 33-58881), as amended; Registrant's Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 1995, June 30, 1995 and
September 30, 1995; Registrant's Form 8-K dated May 26, 1995; and the
descriptions of the Registrant's Common Shares contained in the registration
statements filed under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
"Exchange Act"), and all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of
updating those descriptions.

 All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the filing of a post-effective
amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be
incorporated herein by reference and to be part hereof from the date of filing
of such documents.


Item 4.  Description of Securities
         -------------------------

 Not applicable.  (Classes of securities to be offered are registered under
Section 12 of the Exchange Act.)


Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel
         --------------------------------------

 Not applicable.


Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers
         -----------------------------------------

 Registrant's Restated Articles of Incorporation and Article IV of Registrant's
Restated Code of Regulations are incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit
4.1 to the Form S-3 Registration Statement, No. 33-58881 (the "Registration
Statement") and Exhibit 2 to the Registration Statement on Form 8-A ("Form
8-A"), respectively, both filed with the Commission, which allow
indemnification of officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted for
an Ohio company, pursuant to Section 1701.13 of the Ohio Revised Code.

 The Registrant maintains insurance on behalf of directors and certain officers
against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him in any such
capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

 Registrant has entered into indemnity agreements with its directors and
expects to enter into similar agreements with any director elected or appointed
in the future.  Item 15, Part II of the Registration Statement is incorporated
herein by reference.


Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claims
         ----------------------------------
 Not applicable.






<PAGE>   3
Item 8.  Exhibits
         --------

 4(a)  Restated Articles of Incorporation are incorporated by reference to
       Exhibit 4.1 to Registrant's Registration Statement.

 4(b)  Restated Code of Regulations are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2
       to Registrant's Form 8-A.

 4(c)  1995 Lincoln Stock Purchase Plan.

 23(a) Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors.

 23(b) Consent of Price Waterhouse, Independent Accountants.

 24    Power of Attorney.


Item 9.  Undertakings
         ------------

 (a)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

   (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
       post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

    (i)    To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the 
           Securities Act;

    (ii)   To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the
           effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent
           post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the
           aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
           forth in this Registration Statement;

    (iii)  To include any material information with respect to the plan of
           distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement
           or any material change to such information in this Registration
           Statement;

   PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if
   the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by
   those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant
   pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are
   incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

   (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities
       Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
       Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and
       the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
       initial bona fide offering thereof.

   (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any
       of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
       termination of the offering.

 (b)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
      determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the
      Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of
      the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee
      benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange
      Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement
      shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the
      securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that
      time shall be deemed to be in the initial bona fide offering thereof.




<PAGE>   4

 (c)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, insofar as
      indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be
      permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
      Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
      Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
      Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
      expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that
      a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the
      payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
      officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense
      of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer
      or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered,
      the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has
      been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
      jurisdiction the question of whether such indemnification by it is
      against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the
      final adjudication of such issue.


                                   SIGNATURES


 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration
Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in the City of Cleveland, State of Ohio, on November 9, 1995.

                                THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY



                           By:  /s/ Frederick G. Stueber 
                                ---------------------------------------
                                Frederick G. Stueber, Vice President,
                                General Counsel and Secretary


 Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
date indicated.


<TABLE>


              Signature                               Title                           Date
              ---------                               -----                           ----
<S>                                     <C>                                     <C>
Date  /s/ Donald F. Hastings *          Chairman of the Board and Chief         November 9, 1995 
- -------------------------------------   Executive Officer
Donald F. Hastings                      (Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Frederick W. Mackenbach *           President, Chief Operating              November 9, 1995 
- -------------------------------------   Officer and Director
Frederick W. Mackenbach                 

/s/ H. Jay Elliott *                    Vice President, Chief Financial         November 9, 1995 
- -------------------------------------   Officer and Treasurer (Principal
H. Jay Elliott                          Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ Harry Carlson *                     Director                                November 9, 1995 
- -------------------------------------
Harry Carlson

/s/ David H. Gunning *                  Director                                November 9, 1995 
- -------------------------------------
David H. Gunning

</TABLE>



<PAGE>   5

<TABLE>
              Signature                               Title                           Date
              ---------                               -----                           ----
<S>                                     <C>                                     <C>

/s/ G. Russell Lincoln *                Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
G. Russell Lincoln  

/s/ Henry L. Meyer III *                Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Henry L. Meyer III

/s/ Craig R. Smith *                    Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Craig R. Smith

/s/ Edward E. Hood, Jr. *               Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Edward E. Hood, Jr.   

/s/ Paul E. Lego *                      Director                                November 9, 1995
- ---------------------------------
Paul E. Lego

/s/ Hugh L. Libby *                     Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Hugh L. Libby

/s/ David C. Lincoln *                  Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
David C. Lincoln  

/s/ Emma S. Lincoln *                   Director                                November 9, 1995
- ---------------------------------
Emma S. Lincoln

/s/ Kathryn Jo Lincoln *                Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Kathryn Jo Lincoln

/s/ Lawrence O. Selhorst *              Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Lawrence O. Selhorst  

/s/ Frank L. Steingass *                Director                                November 9, 1995 
- ---------------------------------
Frank L. Steingass

<FN>

 * Frederick G. Stueber, the undersigned attorney-in-fact, by signing his name
hereto, does hereby sign and execute this Registration Statement on behalf of
the above indicated Registrant and officers and directors thereof (constituting
a majority of the directors) pursuant to a power of attorney filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

</TABLE>

November 9, 1995                        By:  /s/ Frederick G. Stueber 
                                             ----------------------------------
                                             Frederick G. Stueber,
                                             Vice President, General Counsel 
                                             and Secretary





<PAGE>   6
                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
                                 -------------

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                   
   Exhibit                                         Exhibit                                         
   Number                                        Description                                       
   ------                                        -----------                                       
    <S>       <C>                                                                                  
    4(a)      Restated Articles of Incorporation are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1
              to Registrant's Registration Statement.

    4(b)      Restated Code of Regulations are incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2 to
              Registrant's Form 8-A.

    4(c)      1995 Lincoln Stock Purchase Plan.

   23(a)      Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors.

   23(b)      Consent of Price Waterhouse, Independent Accountants.

   24         Power of Attorney.
</TABLE>







<PAGE>   1
                                                                    Exhibit 4(c)
 
                          THE LINCOLN ELECTRIC COMPANY
 
                        1995 LINCOLN STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
 
     1.  Purpose.  The purpose of the Lincoln Stock Purchase Plan (the "Plan")
is to provide a means for employees of The Lincoln Electric Company, an Ohio
corporation (the "Company"), and its subsidiaries to acquire a proprietary
interest (or increase an existing proprietary interest) in the Company through
the purchase of common shares of the Company.
 
     2.  Definitions.  As used in the Plan,
 
          "Account" means an account established for a Participant pursuant to
     the Plan.
 
          "Agent" means the bank, trust company, broker or other agent or agents
     selected by the Committee to carry out specified functions under the Plan.
     An employee or other affiliate of the Company may serve as the Agent.
 
          "Board" means the Board of Directors of the Company.
 
          "Committee" means the Committee referred to in Section 8(a) hereof.
 
          "Non-Voting Shares" means the Class A Common Shares, without par
     value, of the Company.
 
          "Participant" means an eligible employee who has elected to purchase
     shares under the Plan and who has not withdrawn all of the shares from his
     or her Account.
 
          "Rule 16b-3" means Rule 16b-3, as promulgated and amended from time to
     time by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities
     Exchange Act of 1934, or any successor rule to the same effect.
 
          "Rules" shall mean the Rules adopted by the Committee for the
     administration of the Plan.
 
          "Subsidiary" means any corporation or other legal entity in which the
     Company owns, directly or indirectly, an equity interest and which has been
     designated by the Committee as an entity whose employees may participate in
     the Plan.
 
          "Voting Shares" means the Common Shares, without par value, of the
     Company.
 
     3.  Eligibility.  Except to the extent that the Committee may establish
limitations on participation in the Plan, any employee (including any officer,
whether or not such officer is also a director of the Company) who has been in
the employ of the Company or any Subsidiary for at least one year shall be
eligible to participate in the Plan. An eligible employee may elect to purchase
either Voting Shares or Non-Voting Shares or both in any particular year to the
extent the same are made available for purchase pursuant to the Plan.
 
     4.  Purchase of Shares in the Open Market.  Each eligible employee shall be
entitled to purchase up to $10,000 worth of Voting Shares or Non-Voting Shares,
as the employee may elect, per year. Any eligible employee may elect to purchase
any or all of the shares so made available to him or her by filing an election
on the form and in the manner prescribed by the Committee and authorizing the
Company to periodically withhold from any compensation otherwise payable to him
or her the amounts necessary to purchase and pay for such shares. Amounts so
withheld, combined with the funds of other Participants, shall be transferred
periodically to the Agent and applied by the Agent to the purchase of such
shares in the open market at prices prevailing from time to time. To the extent
shares of the class elected by an employee are not reasonably available for
purchase in the open market when required by the Agent, the Agent may substitute
shares of the other class. All such shares purchased by the Agent shall
thereupon be credited to the employees' Accounts.
 
     5.  Purchase of Shares from the Company.  (a) In addition to any shares
that are made available pursuant to Section 4 hereof, the Committee may from
time to time determine a number of shares to be offered to each eligible
employee by the Company for purchase under the Plan each year and whether such
 

<PAGE>   2
 
shares shall be Voting Shares or Non-Voting Shares or a combination thereof. In
no event shall an eligible employee be entitled to purchase more than 800 shares
per year pursuant to this Section 5. Unless otherwise determined by the
Committee, the subscription period for any shares so offered shall commence one
week after the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the
Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of each year and
shall end on December 15 each year. The purchase price per share shall be the
fair market value per share (as determined by the Committee) on the last day of
the subscription period of the shares to be sold or if there is no trading of
such shares on such last day, the next succeeding trading day.
 
     (b) Any eligible employee may elect to purchase any or all of the shares
offered to him or her pursuant to this Section 5 by filing an election on the
form and in the manner prescribed by the Committee. Unless otherwise determined
by the Committee, such election may be revoked by the employee up until the
close of business on the last day of the subscription period. Such employee
shall promptly pay for the shares so subscribed for in a lump sum either in
cash, through withholding from compensation otherwise payable to him or her or
by such other medium of payment as the Committee may approve. Unless otherwise
determined by the Committee, amounts so paid by such employee shall be applied
by the Company to the purchase of such shares from the Company, and the shares
so purchased shall thereupon be transferred to the Agent and credited to the
employee's Account.
 
     (c) Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 7 hereof, the aggregate
number of Voting Shares and Non-Voting Shares issued or transferred and sold by
the Company under the Plan shall not exceed 1,250,000. Such shares may be shares
of original issuance or treasury shares.
 
     6.  Accounts.  Shares credited to the Accounts of Participants shall be
held in the names and on behalf of the Participants by the Agent. Cash dividends
shall be reinvested by the Agent in Voting Shares or Non-Voting Shares, which
shall be added to the Participants' Accounts. To the extent practicable,
dividends shall be reinvested in shares of the same class purchased by the agent
in the open market. If shares of either class are not reasonably available for
purchase on the open market when required by the Agent, the Agent may reinvest
dividends in the other class of shares. If shares of such other class are not so
available, the Agent may offer to purchase shares of either class from the
Company or take such other action as the Committee may approve. Participants
shall be entitled to exercise all such voting rights as may be applicable to
shares credited to their Accounts. Any Participant may elect to withdraw any or
all of the shares from his or her Account at any time, whereupon such
Participant shall be entitled to receive a certificate or certificates
representing the number of full shares withdrawn, together with cash for any
fractional share. The Committee may, however, require that a minimum number of
shares be maintained in a Participant's Account if less than all shares are
withdrawn.
 
     7.  Adjustments Upon Changes in Capitalization.  The Committee may make or
provide for such adjustments in the number or kind of shares or other securities
that may be sold under the Plan as the Committee in its sole discretion,
exercised in good faith, may determine is required to reflect (a) any stock
dividend, stock split, combination of shares, recapitalization or other change
in the capital structure of the Company, (b) any merger, consolidation,
separation, reorganization, partial or complete liquidation, issuance of rights
or warrants to purchase stock, or (c) any other corporate transaction or event
having an effect similar to any of the foregoing.
 
     8.  Administration.  (a) This Plan shall be administered by the
Compensation Committee of the Board. A majority of the Committee shall
constitute a quorum, and the acts of the members of the Committee who are
present at any meeting thereof at which a quorum is present, or acts unanimously
approved by the members of the Committee in writing, shall be the acts of the
Committee. The Committee may adopt and from time to time amend, modify or
terminate the Rules. Any action required by the Plan to be taken by the
Committee may be taken through the Rules or by separate Committee action. The
Committee shall appoint the Agent and may delegate to it any of its powers or
duties under the Plan except its authority to exercise discretion with respect
to the amount, timing and pricing of the offering of shares pursuant to Section
5 hereof.
 
     (b) The interpretation and construction by the Committee of any provision
of the Plan, the Rules or any related agreement, notification or document, and
any determination by the Committee pursuant to any
 

<PAGE>   3
 
provision of the Plan, the Rules or any such agreement, notification or
document, shall be final and conclusive. No member of the Committee shall be
liable to any person, including, without limitation, any Participant and any
person claiming by, through or under such Participant, for any such action taken
or determination made in good faith.
 
     (c) All fees and expenses of the Plan shall be paid by the Company,
including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of the Agent and all
brokerage commissions incurred in connection with the purchase of shares in the
open market.
 
     9.  Amendments.  This Plan may be amended from time to time by the
Committee; provided, however, except as expressly authorized by this Plan, no
such amendment shall cause the Plan to cease to satisfy any applicable condition
of Rule 16b-3, without the further approval of the shareholders of the Company.
 
     10.  International Employees.  In order to further the purposes of the
Plan, the Committee may provide for such special terms for purchases of shares
by Participants who are foreign nationals or who are employed by the Company or
any Subsidiary outside of the United States of America as the Committee may
consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax
policy or custom. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to or
amendments, restatements or alternative versions of this Plan as it may consider
necessary or appropriate for such purposes, without thereby affecting the terms
of this Plan as in effect for any other purpose, and the Secretary or other
appropriate officer of the Company may certify any such document as having been
approved and adopted in the same manner as this Plan. No such special terms,
supplements, amendments or restatements, however, shall include any provisions
that are inconsistent with the terms of this Plan as then in effect unless this
Plan could have been amended to eliminate such inconsistency without further
approval by the shareholders of the Company.
 
     11.  Miscellaneous.  (a) To the extent that the Company is required to
withhold federal, state, local or foreign taxes in connection with any payment
made or benefit realized by a Participant under the Plan, it shall be a
condition to the receipt of any such payment or the realization of any such
benefit that the Participant or such other person make arrangements satisfactory
to the Company for payment of any taxes required to be withheld.
 
     (b) The Plan shall not confer upon any Participant any right with respect
to continuance of employment or other service with the Company or any Subsidiary
and shall not interfere in any way with any right that the Company or any
Subsidiary would otherwise have to terminate any Participant's employment or
other service at any time.
 
     (c) Participation in the Plan shall not preclude a Participant from
participating in any other stock purchase plan of the Company, including,
without limitation, any Company stock fund created under any 401(k) savings
plan.
 
     (d) The Plan is intended to comply with Rule 16b-3 as in effect prior to
May 1, 1991. The Committee may at any time elect that Rule 16b-3 as in effect on
and after such date shall apply to the Plan.
 
     (e) Effectiveness of the Plan is subject to approval of the Plan by the
Company's shareholders, and the Plan shall be implemented by the Committee
following consummation of the Recapitalization Amendment contemplated by the
Company's Proxy Statement for its annual meeting to be held in 1995.
 
     

<PAGE>   1
                                                                  Exhibit 23(a)




                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Form S-8 Registration
Statement and related Prospectus pertaining to the 1995 Lincoln Stock Purchase
Plan of our report dated March 3, 1995, except for Note M
as to which the date is June 5, 1995, with respect to the consolidated
financial statements of The Lincoln Electric Company included in Amendment No.
2 to Registation Statement (Form S-3 No. 33-58881) filed with the Securities 
and Exchange Commission.

Our audits also included the financial statement schedule of The Lincoln
Electric Company listed in Item 14(a) of the Company's Annual Report (Form
10-K) for 1994 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This schedule
is the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to
express an opinion based our our audits. In our opinion, the financial
statement schedule referred to above, when considered in relation to the basic
financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects
the information set forth therein.

 
                                                        Ernst & Young LLP 



Cleveland, Ohio
November 10, 1995

<PAGE>   1
                                                               EXHIBIT 23(b)

                        110 George Street Parramatta    Telephone (02) 633 3555
                        Box 975 Parramatta NSW 2124     Fax (02) 633 2362
                                                        Telex 27486
                                                        DX 8217 Parramatta
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        PRICE WATERHOUSE                                [LOGO]


CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS


We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Form S-8 Registration
Statement and related Prospectus pertaining to the 1995 Lincoln Stock Purchase
Plan of our report dated 27 March 1995 relating to the consolidated financial
statements of The Lincoln Electric Company (Australia) Proprietary Limited and
subsidiaries (not presented separately therein) included in Amendment No. 2 to
Registration Statement (Form S-3 No. 33-58881) filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commissssion.



                                                       /s/ Price Waterhouse

                                                           Price Waterhouse     

Parramatta, Australia
10 November 1995












<PAGE>   1
                                                                      Exhibit 24


                               POWER OF ATTORNEY
                               -----------------

 KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the undersigned officers and
directors of The Lincoln Electric Company, an Ohio corporation (the "Company"),
hereby constitutes and appoints Donald F. Hastings, H. Jay Elliott and
Frederick G. Stueber, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney or
attorneys-in-fact, with full power of substitution and revocation, for him or
her and in his or her name, place, and stead, to sign on his or her behalf as
an officer or director of the Company Registration Statements to be filed
pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933 on Form S-8 concerning certain Class A
Common Shares, without par value and Common Shares, without par value (the
"Common Shares") of the Company that are available for sale in connection with
the Company's 1995 Lincoln Stock Purchase Plan and The Lincoln Electric Company
Employee Savings Plan, and also any further Registration Statements concerning
such Common Shares, and to sign any and all amendments or post-effective
amendments to such Registration Statements, and to file the same, with all
exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission or any state regulatory authority, granting
unto said attorney or attorneys-in-fact, and each of them, full power and
authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and
necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and
purposes as they might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming
all that said attorney and attorneys-in-fact or any of them or their substitute
or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have hereunto set their hands as of the
9th day of November, 1995.


/s/ Donald F. Hastings                          /s/ G. Russell Lincoln 
- --------------------------------------          -------------------------------
Donald F. Hastings                              G. Russell Lincoln 
Chairman of the Board and                       Director 
Chief Executive Officer


/s/ Frederick W. Mackenbach                     /s/ Henry L. Meyer III 
- --------------------------------------          -------------------------------
Frederick W. Mackenbach                         Henry L. Meyer III 
President, Chief Operating Officer and          Director 
Director


/s/ H. Jay Elliott                              /s/ Craig R. Smith 
- --------------------------------------          -------------------------------
H. Jay Elliott                                  Craig R. Smith Vice 
President, Chief Financial Officer and          Director 
Treasurer


/s/ Harry Carlson                               /s/ Edward E. Hood, Jr.  
- --------------------------------------          -------------------------------
Harry Carlson                                   Edward E. Hood, Jr.  
Director                                        Director



/s/ David H. Gunning                            /s/ Paul E. Lego 
- --------------------------------------          -------------------------------
David H. Gunning                                Paul E. Lego 
Director                                        Director





<PAGE>   2
/s/ Hugh L. Libby                               /s/ Kathryn Jo Lincoln   
- ---------------------------------------         ------------------------------
Hugh L. Libby                                   Kathryn Jo Lincoln
Director                                        Director



/s/ David C. Lincoln                            /s/ Lawrence O. Selhorst  
- ---------------------------------------         ------------------------------
David C. Lincoln                                Lawrence O. Selhorst
Director                                        Director



/s/ Emma S. Lincoln                             /s/ Frank L. Steingass     
- ---------------------------------------         ------------------------------
Emma S. Lincoln                                 Frank L. Steingass
Director                                        Director







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